Laporta says goodbye to Barcelona dressing room, receives public backing from Flick ahead of elections | OneFootball

Joan Laporta resigned this Monday as president of FC Barcelona in order to stand for re-election. With him stepping down, Rafa Yuste has taken over as interim president until the electoral process is completed.

Following his resignation, the former president was unable to say goodbye to the Barça squad on the same day, as it was a rest day for the players.

Laporta says goodbye

As such, it was this Tuesday that Laporta went to the Ciutat Esportiva to say farewell to both Hansi Flick and the players, reports SPORT.

Laporta arrived at the club’s training complex at 9:20, accompanied by his adviser and member of the sporting commission, Enric Masip. The acting president until the end of the season, Rafa Yuste, arrived shortly afterwards.

Laporta wanted to greet the squad and the coaching staff calmly before training began at 11:00, as preparation continues for the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final against Atletico Madrid.

Laporta stepped down as president on Monday. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Laporta has always been very close to the dressing room, and his visits to the Ciutat Esportiva were frequent during his time in office.

This has been his way of showing confidence in the work of Flick and the players, both in positive moments and in more delicate situations.

From now on, Laporta becomes just another pre-candidate as he waits to gather the necessary signatures to renew his mandate, an ambition he hopes to fulfil in order to continue leading the Barcelona club from 30 June onwards.

The ex-president said goodbye with a positive message: “We’ll see each other again soon, I’m going to win,” claims Javi Miguel of AS.

Meanwhile, inside the dressing room, Flick has already given his public backing to Laporta’s project, with Deco as sporting director, in pursuit of stability for the club.

It is no secret that the German tactician shares a strong relationship with the 63-year-old former president and is backing his campaign ahead of the upcoming elections.